Beyond Boris and Bela: Universal horror's supporting players

Scott Essman and Eric Hoffman Collections

Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan in "Dracula." Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney Jr. are among the iconic figures of the Universal horror films of the 1920s-1940s. But these films were also filled with a stock company of character actors -- Oscar-nominated stage actors, ingenues and even a tiny Russian actress, who was taught her craft by Stanislavsky -- who helped bring these classic films to terrifying life. With the release of "Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection" on Blu-ray and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Universal's Legacy of Horror" film series this month, it seemed the right time to pay tribute to these often unsung heroes of the genre. Full story: Universal horror: 'Essential' Blu-ray spotlights classic actors

Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan in "Dracula." Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney Jr. are among the iconic figures of the Universal horror films of the 1920s-1940s. But these films were also filled with a stock company of character actors -- Oscar-nominated stage actors, ingenues and even a tiny Russian actress, who was taught her craft by Stanislavsky -- who helped bring these classic films to terrifying life. With the release of "Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection" on Blu-ray and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Universal's Legacy of Horror" film series this month, it seemed the right time to pay tribute to these often unsung heroes of the genre. Full story: Universal horror: 'Essential' Blu-ray spotlights classic actors (Scott Essman and Eric Hoffman Collections)

Basil Rathbone and Lionel Atwill in "Son of Frankenstein." Before the horror: The tall, aristocratic South Africa-born British actor earned supporting actor Oscar nominations for 1936's "Romeo and Juliet" and 1938's "If I Were King." Although he excelled at villain roles, Rathbone is best known as Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant, complex detective Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson in a series of popular mysteries, first at 20th Century Fox and then at Universal. Iconic Universal roles: Rathbone made a strong impression as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein's offspring, who makes the mistake of following in his father's footsteps in 1939's "Son of Frankenstein." Memorable quote: "It appears that my father thought that he could extract from lightning some super-violet ray of life-giving properties." ("Son of Frankenstein")

Basil Rathbone and Lionel Atwill in "Son of Frankenstein." Before the horror: The tall, aristocratic South Africa-born British actor earned supporting actor Oscar nominations for 1936's "Romeo and Juliet" and 1938's "If I Were King." Although he excelled at villain roles, Rathbone is best known as Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant, complex detective Sherlock Holmes opposite Nigel Bruce's Dr. Watson in a series of popular mysteries, first at 20th Century Fox and then at Universal. Iconic Universal roles: Rathbone made a strong impression as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein's offspring, who makes the mistake of following in his father's footsteps in 1939's "Son of Frankenstein." Memorable quote: "It appears that my father thought that he could extract from lightning some super-violet ray of life-giving properties." ("Son of Frankenstein") (Scott Essman and Eric Hoffman Collections)